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It could take months for homeowners Dallas to make repairs after Wednesday's hail storm. For those living in historic neighborhoods repairs will take even longer. (Published Friday, June 15, 2012)

Updated at 7:10 PM CDT on Friday, Jun 15, 2012

Backlog from storms North Texas saw in April could slow the cleanup and repair effort.

Hail as large as baseballs and golf balls damaged cars and homes in Dallas, Irving and Grand Prairie on Wednesday night. Early estimates put the damage at about $400 million.

Early Hail Damage Estimates: $400 Million

The cost of repairs at historic homes battered by hail could exceed the cost of some new homes, and experts say tens of thousands of cars will need to be replaced or replaced. (Published Thursday, June 14, 2012)

The cost of repairs for historic homes, such as those in the Swiss Avenue part of Dallas, could exceed the cost of some new homes. Some homes face six-digit repair costs after tennis- and baseball-sized hail pulverized the tiles on their roofs.

"This was more frightening than the tornado," Janet Bryant said. "It was so loud, it sounded like we were being bombed."

Lakewood Cleanup Continues

Cleanup continues in the Lakewood area of Dallas after the June 13 hail storm that hit Dallas County, (Published Thursday, June 14, 2012)

In the Lakewood area of Dallas, hail shattered 10 of the original windows in Jim Heath's 1920s home.

"As I came in, I saw one come right through, and the ice chunk actually landed on the other side of the room," he said.

Lower Greenville Hail Caught on Camera

The city of Dallas is opening a temporary field office at the Lakewood Library. Staff will assist with roofing permits as well as consult with and educate residents in historic or conservation districts.

The office at the library, which is located at 6121 Worth St., will be open from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday and noon-4:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. The library is closed on Mondays.

Long Wait at Body Shops

Heath's cars also were beat up pretty badly. But his dealership said they would not be able to repair the dents until August because they are still working on cars from storms in April.

Other body shops are also still busy with cars damaged in April.

"We were already at several of the locations -- depending on their location to where the storms were -- that are three to four weeks out on hail before this storm happened," said Alan Walne, the chairman of Herb's Paint & Body and a former Dallas councilman.

He said he expects the number of damaged vehicles to reach into the tens of thousands.

"I'd say this is about as bad as we've probably seen in the Dallas area, at least in the last 20 to 30 years, anyway," he said.

Insurance adjusters, including AAA Texas, are setting up claims centers to handle the load.

"Overall today, about 50 percent of the vehicles, half of them coming in here, are complete losses," AAA spokesman Doug Shupe said.

Body shops are advising customers to be patient.

"You find somebody that doesn't have anything to do right now, I would say, 'Buyer beware,' because everybody is slammed right now," Walne said.

Rental cars are also in short supply. Many were damaged in the storm or are already loaned out to people with damaged vehicles.

Enterprise, which provides rentals at many local repair shops, is bringing in 2,500 cars from other parts of the state to help out.

Bill Moyer watched from his couch as shards of glass dropped from his skylight. Contractors spent Thursday morning and afternoon at his house, using tarps and tape to patch up his roof until his insurance company could survey the damage.

The number people who need help kept Moyer from reaching his insurance company.

"Naturally, the phone line is busy," he said. "I sent an email to make sure they have us on their list."

But Moyer kept a positive attitude, even joking that he would have fixed the roof himself.

"I offered to, but my wife said, 'No, no way.' As you can see, I'm pretty old and rickety."

Hail smashed out the front and back windshields on Frank Seltzer's cars, and some of the plastic shattered into pieces.

"I was talking to my insurance agent, and he said this was different hail," he said.